ION Wins $4M Transatlantic Breach Of Contract Suit

Almost a year and a half after it was slapped with $4 million breach of contract lawsuit over a show that they say they didn’t agree to take, ION Media has emerged victorious. On Friday, a federal judge granted the company’s motion for summary judgment (read it here) against plaintiff Atlantique Productions over the French police series Le Grand. In October 2012, Atlantique claimed it had a multimillion-dollar multi-episode deal with ION to make the cop show the broadcaster’s first original series. The French company alleged it had already sent more that $41 million in invoices to ION but hadn’t seen a cent before ION walked away from having anything to do with the Jean Reno-starring series. ION said it never had a solid contract for Le Grand, and last week District Judge Dolly Gee agreed. “Absent a signed agreement, the parties did not have a valid, binding contract. Ion’s motion for summary judgment is therefore GRANTED as to Atlantique’s breach of contract claim,” she wrote in her order, which denied a partial summary judgment that Atlantique was seeking. The 21-page order also tossed Atlantique’s claims of fraud, unjust enrichment and promissory estoppel. Case closed.

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